Eating veggies?
- PuffTheMagicFishy
- Figure 8 Puffer
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- Location: California
Eating veggies?
I've seen that some people here on the forum feed their puffers veggies as treats, so I tried giving my irrubesco half a frozen pea along with her soaked freeze-dried plankton. She seemed to enjoy it (she actually ate most of it, which is high praise from my little snob), so was wondering if it is safe to feed her peas and other forms of vegetable matter now and then for variety. I was thinking 2-4 times per month, maybe? How often can vegetable matter be safely fed to a carnivore? I'm not trying to make her a vegetarian, I'm just trying to spice up her menu a little. In addition to the peas, have some sushi nori (seaweed) in the cupboards I was thinking of trying next week. Is that too salty for a FW fish to eat?
If anyone has heard of ill effects from feeding occasional vegetable matter (digestive troubles, impactions, etc.) please let me know!
If anyone has heard of ill effects from feeding occasional vegetable matter (digestive troubles, impactions, etc.) please let me know!
Tanks:
20-gal feeder breeder (platties and snails)
75-gal West African Lungfish + snails
Other pets: Pacific parrotlet, Italian Greyhound, lots of plants
20-gal feeder breeder (platties and snails)
75-gal West African Lungfish + snails
Other pets: Pacific parrotlet, Italian Greyhound, lots of plants
- Pufferpunk
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T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
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My irrubesco used to like peas. About once a week as a treat. He kinda stopped eating them now though. Stares at them and rolls his beady eyes at me.
I'd rather be a puffer than a snail. Yes I would, if I could, I surely would...
Proud owner of: Beetroot: Fahaka, Hammie: Hairy Puffer, Fishball: Congo Puffer
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Proud owner of: Beetroot: Fahaka, Hammie: Hairy Puffer, Fishball: Congo Puffer
RIP: Wasabi: Male irrubesco, Hamachi: Female irrubesco, Popcorn: SA puffer
- PuffTheMagicFishy
- Figure 8 Puffer
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- Location: California
"Booooooor-ing! I want speacialer food!"
The cry of the irrubesco.
So peas as a treat it is! I doubt she has the digestive equipment to get much nutrition out of it, but she does seem to enjoy the taste and variety.
Gut-loaded food is a great idea, PP! The herbivores do all the hard work digesting the cellulose and so forth, and the puffers get the nutrition. Alaska ate about half a wild cricket we caught in the house last night and really seemed to enjoy it. I might get her some more (properly gut-loaded domestic crickets this time)--especially if I get that lizard I've been coveting. Do puffers ever get impacted if they eat a lot of chitin, like some smaller lizards do?
I sort of gut-load my snails; they eat a mix of spirulina wafers, green beans, and fish food. I never though of it as gut-loading until now; I just figured my puff should be eating healthy snails. I've been considering gut-loaded ghost shrimps too, but I'm not certain I could get a colony going without getting a new tank and the associated equipment. They can't go in my 5-gallon snail breeder, can they?
The cry of the irrubesco.
So peas as a treat it is! I doubt she has the digestive equipment to get much nutrition out of it, but she does seem to enjoy the taste and variety.
Gut-loaded food is a great idea, PP! The herbivores do all the hard work digesting the cellulose and so forth, and the puffers get the nutrition. Alaska ate about half a wild cricket we caught in the house last night and really seemed to enjoy it. I might get her some more (properly gut-loaded domestic crickets this time)--especially if I get that lizard I've been coveting. Do puffers ever get impacted if they eat a lot of chitin, like some smaller lizards do?
I sort of gut-load my snails; they eat a mix of spirulina wafers, green beans, and fish food. I never though of it as gut-loading until now; I just figured my puff should be eating healthy snails. I've been considering gut-loaded ghost shrimps too, but I'm not certain I could get a colony going without getting a new tank and the associated equipment. They can't go in my 5-gallon snail breeder, can they?
Tanks:
20-gal feeder breeder (platties and snails)
75-gal West African Lungfish + snails
Other pets: Pacific parrotlet, Italian Greyhound, lots of plants
20-gal feeder breeder (platties and snails)
75-gal West African Lungfish + snails
Other pets: Pacific parrotlet, Italian Greyhound, lots of plants
- Pufferpunk
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- Posts: 32776
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
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- My Puffers: Filbert, the 12" T lineatus
Punkster, the 4" red T miurus
Mongo, the 4" A modestus
2 T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
Also kept:
lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Chicago
- Contact:
Yes, I wouldn't feed too many king/mealworms to them.Do puffers ever get impacted if they eat a lot of chitin, like some smaller lizards do?
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...
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"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
- PuffTheMagicFishy
- Figure 8 Puffer
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Good to know! I'll definitely keep that in mind when shopping.Pufferpunk wrote:Yes, I wouldn't feed too many king/mealworms to them.Do puffers ever get impacted if they eat a lot of chitin, like some smaller lizards do?
Thanks, Phaedrus. I figured it'd be something like that. When I get more space I might set up a ghostie tank, but for now I'll stick with snails.
So has anyone had any luck with seaweed for FW puffs, or is it too salty?
Tanks:
20-gal feeder breeder (platties and snails)
75-gal West African Lungfish + snails
Other pets: Pacific parrotlet, Italian Greyhound, lots of plants
20-gal feeder breeder (platties and snails)
75-gal West African Lungfish + snails
Other pets: Pacific parrotlet, Italian Greyhound, lots of plants
- The Fisherman
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hi at all,
while it is known that some puffs eat plants and algae and some sea-puffs even eat up to 90% only algae i don`t know any academic text which has analyzed the food of c. irrubescu. because of that we just can`t know. some asian freshwater species love to eat plants and algae and it makes a good proportion of their diet. for example some of the auriglobus species.
my auriglobus modestus start to eat all kinds of algae as soon as i don´t feed them one day. they also love cucumber.
it has been suggested that c.irrubescu is also feeding on insects because of the form of his mouth. my irrubescus loved insects, but those worms you were talking about should not be the best.
martin
while it is known that some puffs eat plants and algae and some sea-puffs even eat up to 90% only algae i don`t know any academic text which has analyzed the food of c. irrubescu. because of that we just can`t know. some asian freshwater species love to eat plants and algae and it makes a good proportion of their diet. for example some of the auriglobus species.
my auriglobus modestus start to eat all kinds of algae as soon as i don´t feed them one day. they also love cucumber.
it has been suggested that c.irrubescu is also feeding on insects because of the form of his mouth. my irrubescus loved insects, but those worms you were talking about should not be the best.
martin
- OraLacerta
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- Figure 8 Puffer
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- PuffTheMagicFishy
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Peas aren't poisonous raw. Many beans are bad to eat uncooked, but peas can be eaten straight from the shell. I do it all the time. As with any food, you could probably have some ill effects if you ate way too much, but in average quantities raw peas are quite tasty and healthy.
Tanks:
20-gal feeder breeder (platties and snails)
75-gal West African Lungfish + snails
Other pets: Pacific parrotlet, Italian Greyhound, lots of plants
20-gal feeder breeder (platties and snails)
75-gal West African Lungfish + snails
Other pets: Pacific parrotlet, Italian Greyhound, lots of plants